


Before He Was Frost

by that1crazaychik



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Bullying, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Jack's Missing Years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 02:46:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20828114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that1crazaychik/pseuds/that1crazaychik
Summary: The life and times of Jack Bennett, before he became Jack Frost.





	1. Kite Rescue

"Jack!" Anna screamed. She watched as her brother plummeted from the tree and landed hard on his right arm. She heard a crack then a groan and she raced over to her brother's side.

"Are you okay Jack?" Anna asked. Jack clutched his right arm hard to his stomach and managed a nod. Anna knew that was a lie. She could tell he was in pain but he held it back, for Anna's sake. But it didn't really work. Anna was on the verge of tears, she hated seeing her brother hurt and she just couldn't hold them back. She was about to release the frenzy of tears, sobs and sniffling when something happened. The beat-up, old kite that Jack had scaled the tree to fetch floated down from the tree and landed directly on top of his head as if to mock him. Anna couldn't help herself. She burst out in laughter. Jack smiled despite the pain in his arm and proceeded to try and blow the kite off of his head, which only made Anna laugh harder. Once she finally calmed down she took the kite off of her older brother's head and ruffled his hair.

"You ought to be more careful Jack!" she said, regaining a serious tone. "You could've died!"

Jack laughed but immediately stopped due to pain.

"I doubt that'll ever happen!" He said with a sly smile. "Besides, if I die who will fetch your runaway kites?"

"I'm serious Jack!" Anna replied, almost in tears once more.

"Okay, Okay!" Jack exclaimed "I will! Just don't... Don't cry okay? I'm fine, really!"

Anna still didn't look reassured, but she helped her brother to his feet and brushed the dry leaves and grass off him. His arm didn't look very normal. In fact, it didn't look very good at all. Even though he was clutching it tightly, Anna could tell it was bent funny. She didn't think arms were supposed to bend like that.

"What's wrong with it" she cocked her head to the side.

Jack looked down at his mangled arm and looked away immediately. His whole face turned as white as a sheet. He grimaced.

"Oh god... I think I broke it!" he muttered. That didn't sound good!

"We should go home!" Anna said, "Can we please go home!"

Jack smiled down at his little sister and ruffled her hair with his good hand.

"Yeah," he said, "We can go home!" then added, "Race you!"

The two raced home, and for the first time, Anna actually won!


	2. Broken Bones, Broken Hearts

Mary heard a loud yawn come from the loft. She turned around to see her teenaged son clamber down the latter as best he could with one arm. His right arm was tied up in a sling around his neck and hung uselessly in front of his stomach (the result of a dangerous kite rescue!). After his struggle down the latter, Jack shuffled lazily into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Mary teased. Jack flopped into a chair at the kitchen table.

"What time is it?" He asked sleepily.

"Around noon!" His mother replied smoothly.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Where's Anna?"

"Don't you worry about your sister, I told her you needed to rest and sent her off to play with the other kids!" Mary said as she scooped some soup into a bowl and set it in front of Jack.

"But..." Jack started but was cut off by his mother's words.

"You know Jack you don't have to be by her side every minute! She's a grown girl she can take care of herself!"

"She's only eight mom!" Jack replied, "And she cries too easily and she's always shy around the village kids!"  
Mary sighed as she grabbed a spoon off the counter and handed it to Jack.

"You've got to stop worrying about your sister and start worrying about yourself!" Mary said. "Last time you tried to help her you ended up falling out of a tree!" She slid into the chair across from Jack and observed as he tried to scoop various veggies from his soup into his spoon with his left hand. As he struggled with his soup Mary knew that he would have made Anna laugh if she was there. He always made Anna laugh. Mary sighed.

"You're her brother Jack, not her father!" She immediately regretted saying anything.  
Jack's spoon stopped halfway to his open mouth. His weak hand began to shake under the weight and the soup plummeted from his spoon back into his bowl. He set his spoon down quietly and averted his gaze. After a long moment of silence, he spoke.

"Maybe if she had an actual father, I wouldn't have to be!" Mary's heart stung at his words, almost as if they were an accusation. She knew that Jack missed his father but she also knew that couldn't help that her husband had left them. Jack, however, still didn't seem to understand that.

"I know sweetie..." Mary said as she reached across the table and gently wiped a tear off of Jack's cheek. "I know..."


	3. Fight

Jack hated school. Seriously! Who's idea was it to lock kids up in a hot, stuffy shack all day when they could be outside running, or playing or just being with nature. Every time the teacher said class dismissed Jack was almost the first one out the door, followed directly by his little sister.

Today, however, it was even more exciting to get out of that crowded place. Why? Because today was Friday, and it was the Friday before Easter Sunday! Everyone was stoked! Well... At least everyone else was, but not Jack. Jack hated Easter (but he didn't tell his sister that!).

He skulked down the school building's creaky wooden steps and into the muddy yard below. All the other kids, including his sister, ran out into the yard yelling and cheering. When Anna noticed that Jack wasn't running around and cheering with them she went and investigated.

"What's wrong Jack?" she asked him, her head tilting to the side slightly, like a confused dog. Jack couldn't help but smile at her, she always made him smile.

"Oh nothing..." He said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Just a little tired is all!"

"Is your arm still hurting?" She looked at him worriedly as she gently placed her hand on his right arm where he broke it a while ago. It had finally healed up a few weeks ago but was still a little sore from time to time.

"Nah!" He said sitting down on the school steps, "Not at all!"

"Okay..." She said cheerfully. That's what Jack liked about his little sister, she never pressed you for answers when you didn't give any. When you said you were fine she'd say Okay! and move on with things.

She needs to teach mom that skill! Jack thought.

Anna stood in front of Jack watching the other kids play for a while. Jack didn't get why she was so shy around the village kids. He wished that for once, one of the other girls would come to ask Anna to play with them and then she'd no longer be so shy! He knew that was probably not going to happen though... None of the village kids would talk to the poor kids... Not unless they were demanded to by their parents!

"Hey, why don't you go play with them?" Jack suggested. Anna just stared at him like he had asked her to go run off the edge of a cliff.

"C'mon," Jack insisted "You'll be fine... Now go and play!" she still didn't budge.

"Do you trust me?" Jack asked. As Anna shrugged her shoulders, Jack did his best impression of being stabbed in the heart. He then pretended to pull an invisible knife out of his chest and thrust it towards Anna.

"I think this belongs to you!" He said in mock pain. Anna giggled and Jack smiled. Finally, Anna said:

"Okay... I will!" and she set out across the yard to where a group of girls was sitting in a circle, playing some handshake game. But before she even got halfway through the yard, a group of older boys raced past her through the mud chasing after a half-deflated ball. As their footsteps slapped through the puddle, they sprayed mud all over Anna and she stopped dead in her tracks. Jack stood up immediately and saw his little sister clenching her fists(that's what she always did when she got angry or upset).

Uh, oh... Jack thought as he heard his sister scream.

"Hey! You just splashed mud all over my dress!" She turned in the direction of the boys, tears streaming down her face. It was her good dress too, the one she saved all that money from selling chicken eggs to buy. One of the boys turned around and Jack's stomach twisted. It was Marcus Greyland, one of the cruelest, rudest guys at school. He looked down on Jack's sister with a wicked smirk on his face. Jack clenched his fists.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he said mockingly, "Here, Crybaby, let me fix that for you!"

Before Jack could run to his sister's aid, Marcus gave her a huge shove and she landed flat on her butt in the mud puddle. That's when she really started crying. Jack ran to her side and helped her up.

"Hey, hey... It's okay... It's okay Anna I'm right here! You don't need to cry, okay? You're alright" Jack steadied her as she swayed back and forth from crying so hard. He tried his best to wipe the grime and tears off her face but didn't have much luck. By that time a huge crowd of kids had already gathered around the scene. Behind Jack, Marcus said:

"Yeah Crybaby, your all right! Besides, I thought that was where poor folk belonged!" His group of friends laughed and a few people in the crowd joined in.

Jack couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. Before he even knew what he was doing, Jack tackled Marcus into the mud and the two boys were kicking and rolling in the mud. Marcus was a little heavier than Jack so that kind of gave him an advantage, but Jack was quicker. Marcus had managed to roll on top of Jack, his knee owned to Jack's chest. However, when he went to throw a punch Jack easily dodged the first one, and Marcus's fist splashed into the mud. The second punch, however, Jack managed to catch mid-swing.

Jack had never really been in a fight before so he did the first thing he thought of and swung his fist right into the bigger boys nose. Marcus recoiled to the right, losing his balance and allowing Jack to roll on top of him. Now it was Jack who had his knee pinned on Marcus's chest. Now Jack was the one with the advantage. Jack swung as hard as he could but only managed to land one punch before he felt two pairs of hands grab hold of his shoulder's and pull him off Marcus.

Jack thrashed and kicked as hard as he could but there was no way the hands were loosening their grip. Jack looked up in time to see one of Marcus's friends help him up off the bigger boy stormed directly over to Jack, fist raised. Before Jack could even think Wow three against one that's a little unfair... Marcus's fist slammed into his cheek and pain exploded across his face. His vision went blurry and he hardly saw the next punch coming. Something slammed into his stomach, he wasn't sure if it was a fist or a knee, and he felt all the air being pushed from his lungs. He took one more blow to the stomach when he heard a muffled shout. The two boys that were holding him let him go and he collapsed into the mud. The last thing he saw was his little sister running towards him with their teacher in tow, then he blacked out.

When Jack woke up he was lying on his bed in his own room. His nose throbbed and his stomach felt as if he had done two thousand sit-ups. He tried to sit up but was immediately pushed back down by a soft, yet firm hand. He looked over to see his mother sitting next to his bed. She grabbed a rag from the bucket of water she had beside her and continued to scrub dirt and blood of off Jack's face and hair.

Jack just lied there, patiently. He knew there was a lecture coming, he could feel it. He just didn't understand how his mother would be able to give him trouble for being beaten up. I mean... Sure, he may have started it but if Marcus hadn't said those things about being poor then... His mother cut through his thoughts.

"Does this having anything to do with your father?" She asked calmly as she scrubbed his forehead.

"No..." Jack replied swiftly. His mother just raised her eyebrow and gave him a you're-not-fooling-anybody look. Sure... Maybe Jack was feeling a little depressed and his emotional state might have caused him to act out violently, but it wasn't like the fact that two days from now was the day his father left them had anything to do with what Marcus had said. Suddenly it hit him. Two days from now, eight years ago his father had abandoned Jack, his mother, and his newborn baby sister. That's right, his dad left them on freaking Easter!

No... Jack thought as he closed his eyes tight, don't think about it, don't think about him!

But it was too late. Tears streamed out of his closed eyes even though he fought so hard to keep them in. He heard his mother exhale gently then stroke his forehead.

"I wish I could make things easier..." She whispered. "God, how I wish!"  
But Jack knew she couldn't, no matter how hard she wished... No one could!


	4. Just Eggcelent

"Come on, Anna!" Jack called to his sister who was still in the coop. "Hurry up! We have to make it to the market before it closes!"

"Coming!" She called back. She hurried out of the coop, saying goodbye to chickens as she closed the door, and handed the basket of eggs to Jack.

"Look how many we got today, Jack!" she said with a smile. "There's at least five dozen in there!"

Jack smiled down at his sister, after counting the brown eggs in the basket. He reminded himself to teach his little sister what a dozen was... later. There was actually only about a dozen and a half but that was still a lot for them! Their birds had been molting for a while now and they were barely getting three eggs a day! But now their old hens were trucking along as usual, and it was a good thing to! Despite his mother's best efforts Jack could tell the family was struggling to stay afloat. They needed every penny they could get from these eggs. Jack got Anna to run two eggs back to the house (the family's next breakfast! An egg for his mother, and an egg for Jack and Anna to share), then they set off down the dirt road to the village.

Jack walked carefully, caressing the basket of eggs in his arms. He needed them to be in the best condition if he wanted to get something good from them, even though he knew he would be getting something for them no matter what! Mrs. Clearwater always made sure of that!

The old woman would buy almost anything from the kids, especially when Anna's there. She never gave them an extraordinary amount, just enough to get by. Mr. Hoarst, on the other hand, was a little pickier. He would probably inspect the eggs with a magnifying glass if he had to! Although it was usually a great deal of trouble having to deal with the man, he usually gave really good money. And that's exactly what Jack needed!

Anna had been eying up a cute hair bow from Mrs. Clearwater's shop for weeks now. It hadn't been sold yet and every time they went to town they had to make a special detour just to pass by the window of Mrs. Clearwater's shop to admire the big frilly bow! Jack wanted to buy it for his sister, so he'd been saving his share of the egg money for a while now! If Mr. Hoarst approved of their batch of eggs today he would be mere pennies away from having it!

The two continued along the road, Anna skipping and singing and stopping every now and then to admire a weed on the side of the road.

"Look at the pretty flower, Jack!" She smiled.

She could be really naïve at times... but Jack still loved her! They were just about at the village when Jack noticed a pack of boys playing in the trees to his left.

Oh great... he thought, just perfect!

"Anna... Anna! Let's go!" He called to his sister who was now distracted by a butterfly. He rushed over and grabbed her hand. "Come on Anna, we've gotta go!"

"Hey!" Jack heard a familiar voice call from the group. A few boys pointed at the two farm kids and many more laughed and jeered. That's when Jack found the source of the voice. Sitting upon one of the tallest branches of the tree was Marcus. He swung down, hitting the ground with a mighty thump! and began to sprint towards them, his friends following.

"Who are they?" Anna asked curiously as she strained her neck to see the group of boys barreling towards them.

"No one! Just go!" Jack said trying to pick up the pace, but it was no use trying to run! Between his sore ribs and fragile eggs, there was no way they were going to get far. Sure enough, the group of boys caught up with them. A few rushed past Jack and Anna and screeched to a halt in front of them. Jack stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, but they were already surrounded.

Suddenly the group broke apart and Marcus made his way into the middle of the circle.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" He asked, rolling up his sleeves.

"Leave us alone!" Anna declared as she stepped in front of Jack, still clinging to his hand. "We have to get to town before the market closes!"

Jack wished that sometimes Anna would just be quiet. Marcus laughed.

"Why would two penny pinchers like yourselves be going to the market? As if you could afford anything!" he said with a sneer.

Jack grit his teeth. Despite the fact that he knew (from experience) that it wouldn't work out in his favor, Jack wanted to punch the bigger boy's crooked teeth right out of his mouth. Instead, however, he simply said.

"That's none of your business!" and turned to leave. Before he could even take a step however, Marcus snatched one of the spotted eggs from his basket and held it well out of Jack's reach, inspecting it.

"Hey! Give that back!" Jack yelled, starting to get really angry.

"Come get it!" Marcus taunted, holding the egg just out of Jack's reach. Jack glared at the boy a moment, not wanting to fall for his pathetic trick but his annoyance ruled over his pride. He lunged for the egg but Marcus pulled back. Jack lunged again, his temper rising, but this time Marcus turned and threw the egg at a nearby tree, the shell bursting as yolk exploded onto the trunk.

"No!" Jack yelled reaching out for the egg even though he knew it was gone. Suddenly, Jack was shoved from behind and he stumbled forward. Almost as if it were planned Marcus stuck out his foot and Jack tripped. He hit the ground hard on his side, and his ribs groaned with renewed pain. He had tried to twist to avoid breaking the eggs in his basket but it was no use. Eggs flew from the basket and bounced down the dirt path, most of them bursting into globs of yellow.

Jack lay in the dirt, miserably watching as the boys pointed and laughed, some stomping some of the few surviving eggs. Jack began to pick himself up as he felt something cold and wet land on top of his head. He closed his eyes, trying to hold back his tears as yolk and egg white dripped down his forehead.

"You're as good as dirt Jack Bennett!" Marcus yelled. Jack felt a single tear fall down his cheek. He probably would've burst into tears, if a voice hadn't popped up above the jeering.

"Eh! Why don't you pick on someone you're own size?" It belonged to a boy, speaking in a smooth British accent. Jack opened his eyes to see a young boy, dressed in a shirt and tie burst through the crowd. He seemed to be the same age as Jack but definitely cleaner. His hair was shaved along the sides and he had sparkling blue eyes. At the moment they were glaring right at Marcus.

"On the other hand... It must be hard to find someone of your size, ain't it mate?" The blonde boy smirked. A snicker ran through the crowd but immediately stopped when Marcus growled.

"What's it to ya?" Marcus grunted. The British boy ignored Marcus and put his hands on his hips.

"Why don't you all just move along and leave these two alone? I think you've caused them enough trouble!" Marcus looked down at Jack, who avoided all eye contact.

"You're lucky, Poor Boy! Next time you might not be so lucky!" Marcus spat.

"Oh, go suck an egg!" Blondie retorted annoyingly.

As the group dissipated, Jack began quietly gathering the surviving eggs. The boy rolled up his sleeves, kneeled in the dirt and gathered them with him.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that, mate! Those boys can be real jerks some times!" he said carefully placing the eggs back into the basket. Jack ignored him, wiping an egg on his pants.

"Okay... maybe all the time!" the boy corrected himself. They finished gathering all the eggs into the basket and stood up out of the dirt. Jack counted the remaining eggs. Out of the 18 eggs they had started with, only 7 remained. Jack could kiss that hair bow goodbye, and probably supper too...

"Um... thanks I guess... uh..." Jack started, not sure of the boy's name.

"Dexter!" the boy said, hand outstretched. "The name's Dexter!"

Jack shook his hand, even though his was filled with dirt and egg yolk, (Jack forget his manners sometimes) but Dexter didn't seem to mind!. He handed Jack his handkerchief, and Jack gratefully took it, trying to get the yolk out of his hair.

"I'm Jack!" he replied, cautiously "And this is my little sister Anna!" he put a hand on Anna's shoulder and she looked up nervously at him.

Dexter bent down until he was eye level with Anna.

"Well hullo there, Anna! Pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He held out his hand and Anna shook it laughing.

"You talk funny!" she said between giggles.

"Anna!" Jack scolded, embarrassed. But Dexter laughed.

"Aye, s'alright! I get that a lot!" Jack was relieved. "Say... do you chaps need a mate to walk with you to the village?"

Jack and Anna spoke at the same time.

"No thank you, we're fine!" Jack said.

"Yes! Would you, please! Please!" Anna begged.

"Only if it's no bother to your brother!" Dexter replied, though his comment was aimed more at Jack. Dexter gave him a warm smile so Jack averted his eyes. That didn't help however, for his eyes landed upon the pleading face of his little sister.

"Yeah, no! It's no bother whatsoever!" Jack said, almost a little too forced. And the trio headed down towards the village.


	5. Dexter's Gift

Mrs. Clearwater inspected the basket of eggs.

"Well, Mr. Jack..." She said. "I can give you a penny apiece for em!"

Jack couldn't help but feel a little disappointment. After the money was split between him, his mom and Anna, Jack would still be short a dime at least. The bow was history! He tried to smile, and it took all of his effort to say politely:

"That sounds great Mrs. Clearwater!"

"Perfect!" The old lady squeaked. "I'll be right back!" She disappeared through the curtain behind the counter, hobbling as fast as her cane would let her.

The whole time they were negotiating Anna admired her hair bow which had now been moved to the glass display cabinet under the counter.

Once she was satisfied looking at it, she skipped off to go admire more of the store. Jack couldn't help but stare longingly at the pink frills. He felt his cheeks turn a bright red when he noticed Dexter following his stare. Mrs. Clearwater burst back through the curtain whistling to herself as she handed Jack his money.

"There you go, Sonny!" She smiled.

"Thanks again, Mrs Clearwater!" Jack said as she finished transferring the eggs into her basket. Jack was about to leave when Dexter cleared his throat and asked an interesting question.

"How much for the hair bow, Mrs. Clearwater?" He asked pointing at the pink frilly mess. Jack quickly turned back to the counter waiting eagerly for the old lady's answer.

"What admirable taste Mr. Dexter!" She said (she referred to everyone as Mr. Or Miss, it's just the way she was) "It's a quarter, Darling! You interested?"

"No..." Dexter said as he dug through a leather pouch he pulled from his pocket. He dished a quarter out of the bag and Jack watched in shock as he slapped it down on the counter. "However, would you kindly wrap it up for my friend here?" He asked with a charming smile.

"Well certainly, sir!" Said Mrs. Clearwater as she opened the cabinet and extracted the bow. She placed it gently in a little purple box and tied it shut with yellow ribbon. She dug around in a drawer behind the counter until she pulled out a small yellow bow to place on top. Once finished she handed it over the counter to Jack. Jack looked quickly over his shoulder to make sure Anna was still distracted by the colourful pottery, then quickly stowed the box underneath the cloth in the egg basket. He thanked Mrs. Clearwater again and called for Anna. Together the three left the store and headed home.

On the way home, Jack tried to hand Dexter the few nickels he had accumulated over the past few weeks but the boy refused. When Jack asked why he did that for him it took Dexter a while to answer. Finally, he said.

"You're a good lad, Jack! You didn't deserve what happened to you earlier, yet you took it like a true gentleman." Jack could feel his cheeks redden again. He stared at the dirt road, trying to hide his flattery.

"I don't know..." Dexter continued "I guess I just..." But he didn't finish. The boys stayed silent the rest of the walk, watching Anna skip around on the road ahead. Only when they reached a T in the road and needed to head opposite directions, did Jack speak up.

"Thank you, Dexter... How can I repay you?"

Dexter smiled sheepishly.

"Come visit, ya hear?" Dexter began to back down the road waving goodbye to his new friends.

Jack and Anna waved back, and Jack couldn't help but smile. He looked down at the small box peeking out from under the cloth. Somehow he knew, right then and there that he and Dexter were going to be good friends.

They continued down the road, Jack falling in line with Anna as they skipped through the dust.


	6. Easter Sunday, Easter Funday

Jack lay awake in his bed while his sister snored peacefully from the other side of the room. He had been awake for at least an hour but couldn't get himself out of bed. As he lay there, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling, he let tears run gently down his cheeks. Easter mornings had always been rough on him. He couldn't help but remember the morning, about eight years ago, when he climbed down from the loft, giddy with the excitement of the holiday only to find his mother broken down and crying, clutching a note from his father. Despite the holiday's theme of joy and new beginnings, Jack could never quite get into the Easter mood.

In an effort to cheer himself up, he felt underneath his bed for the little purple box he'd stowed away there yesterday. It was still there and Jack was almost shaking with the excitement and anticipation of gift-giving. He couldn't wait to see the look on Anna's face when she opened the box. She'd be thrilled!

Finally, Anna began to stir. Jack quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep again. A few minutes later a small pair of feet was jumping on his bed, and a voice was screeching:

"Wake up! Wake up! Waaake uuuuup, Jack! It's Easter!"

Jack peeked at his little sister with one eye.

"Unngghhhhh!" he said (He had to try and make it convincing!).

Only when Anna started pulling on his shirt and calling him Sleeping Beauty did Jack "wake up".

"Come on Jack! Aren't you excited to see what the Easter Bunny hid!" she looked at him, excitement sparkling in her eyes. He was sure his eyes looked the same.

"Well... actually." Jack reached under his bed and pulled out the box. "I think you should be excited about what I hid!"

Anna gazed at the little box with wide eyes. She looked up at Jack and when he nodded, she snatched the gift from his hands and began untying the ribbon as fast as her little hands would let her. When she finally got it undone, with some help from Jack, she opened the lid and a high pitched squeal escaped into the room.

"It's the one that I wanted so much and you got it and it's mine! EEEEEEEEEK!" Jack laughed as his little sister danced around the room, clutching the bow to her chest. She ran up to Jack and hugged and kissed him.

"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" She said with every kiss.

"You can thank Dexter next time you see him!" Jack said through his laughter.

"Oh I will!" she said, a big smile on her face. It faded a second later. "Wait... why am I thanking Dexter?"

Jack thought for a moment. He didn't know if he wanted to tell her that he was too poor to even afford the bow and that Dexter had really bought it. He didn't want his little sister to think she couldn't rely on her bother anymore. Deep down Jack knew that if he told her who bought her the present it would hurt his pride more than it would her feelings.

"Because... he helped us get to town to buy it!" Jack almost bit his tongue as the words came from his mouth. He hated lying to Anna, yet he still did.

"Oh yeah!" Anna said and continued to dance around the room. Jack sighed, mentally thanking her for being the easiest person to hide emotions from ever! After Anna had finished dancing and singing about how much she loved her bow, she ran to Jack handing him the bow.

"Put it in my hair, won't you Jack?" she said, turning around and rushing her fingers through her messy hair. Jack chuckled.

"Why don't we get mum to do that?" he said, not knowing a thing about how to put a hair bow in.

"Okay!" Anna snatched the bow and ran for the ladder and was gone before Jack could even get out of his bed.

"Mom! Mommy! Look what jack got me!" She yelled the whole way down. Jack quickly clambered down the ladder after her and arrived in the kitchen just in time to see his mom's face. She looked from the bow to Jack, completely stunned.

"Wow... Jack, honey..." she smiled one of her dazzling smiles "It's beautiful! But, how'd you-"

"Egg money!" He piped up quickly before guilt made him say otherwise. "I've been saving up for a while..."

"That is so sweet honey!" Mary smiled warmly at her son, which sent another pang of guilt through Jack. He still didn't know how he managed to lie to his two favorite people in the world.

Anna gave the bow to her mother and Mary put it in her hair and had to tell her repeatedly throughout breakfast not to touch it or it would fall out.

After breakfast, the children helped clean dishes before Mary sent them off to get dressed for Easter Mass.

"You two go get cleaned up," she said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I have presents for you when you come back down."

The children raced to the loft so fast Mary couldn't help but laugh to herself. When they were back downstairs in their nicest Sunday clothes, Mary revealed their surprise.

"Tada!" she said as she pulled two colorful, hand-weaved baskets from behind her back.

"Wow!" Anna said, reaching for hers. Jack stared amazed at his.

"Mom, did you make these?" He asked, inspecting his with wide eyes.

"You bet! I wanted you kids to have something nice to collect Easter eggs in!" Mary smiled.

"Thank-you Mom!" Anna rushed and hugged her mother. Jack stared with thankful eyes at Mary. He didn't need to say anything, Mary knew this day was as rough for him as it was for her. She pulled her son into the hug and the family stayed like that for a long while.

When mass was over all the children raced out of the church ready to begin the search for Easter eggs. Jack and Anna kissed their mother goodbye and raced after the other children eager to start their search. Everyone knew that the boundaries of the hunt were from the church to the old creek in the park. It was just a tradition. Whenever Anna questioned it their mother would always say:

"It's the Easter Bunny's decision after all."

As much as Jack wanted to he could not let himself believe in something as childish as the Easter Bunny. Anna was mad about him, just like she was about the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, even the Sand Man. Jack didn't know how she believed in all that crap, but he didn't want to be the one to crush her dreams!

The pair was searching an old blueberry patch when they stumbled across someone familiar, literally. Jack wished he had seen the pair of legs coming from the blueberry patch sooner. Nevertheless, his trip and fall made Anna laugh and that's all that really matters right?

Anna was in the middle of her laughing fit when the owner of the legs popped his head out of the bush.

"Mighty sorry about that, Mate!" Dexter said as he fought his way through the branches.

"It's no problem!" Jack said, getting to his feet. "Say, what were you doing in there? Did you skip breakfast or something?" The comment made both Dexter and Anna laughed and Jack helped Dexter to his feet.

"Nah..." Dexter said, wiping his trousers clean of stray grass blades and leaves. "I was looking for the Easter Bunny!"

When Anna gasped in excitement Dexter smirked playfully.

"Do you know of him?" Dexter asked in mock surprise.

"Know of him? Anna knows everything about him!" Jack said as Anna smiled shyly.

"Well then I bet you'd love to see him, wouldn't ya!" Dexter asked. Anna gasped once more, and looked up at Jack amazed.

"Can we can we please!" she asked, clutching at his shirt sleeve.

"I don't know..." Jack looked at Dexter, who silently begged him to play along with his little game. As much as Jack didn't believe he didn't want to ruin this adventure for his sister. Jack smiled at Dexter.

"How do we find him?" Jack asked, allowing himself to play along. Anna squealed with delight as Dexter said:

"I've right on his trail! Follow me!" and the three took off in search of the mythical rabbit.

They made it all the way to the creek when Dexter finally held his hand out for the group to stop. Anna vibrated with anticipation.

"We have to keep an eye out for any tracks that might give us a clue that's he's still here!" he whispered to Anna who nodded. The look of pure determination on her face made Jack smile.

"I heard he poops out chocolate, maybe we can start there." Jack said, but Anna was too focused on her search to get the joke. Finally Dexter pointed across the creek and said: "Look!"

Anna raced to his side and followed his gaze across the creek. Jack ran up and crouched beside them, curious as to what Dexter's plan was.

"You see him?" Dexter asked Anna as he directed her gaze. "Right behind that shrub..."

When Anna gasped in surprise Jack, followed their gaze but didn't see anything.

"What-" he began.

"I don't believe it!" Anna breathed. Dexter smiled and gazed in wonder at the other side of the creek. Jack was convinced they were playing some sort of joke on him until he saw Anna's face. Her jaw dropped almost to the river bed and her eyes were filled with such awe and joy at what she saw that it made Jack want to see it too. He let himself think, to believe for just a second that maybe, just maybe he could be real. That the Easter Bunny really could exist. He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight. When he opened them, the sight on the other end of the creek made him gasp aloud.

peeking up from behind a flowering berry bush were two, tall, giant rabbit ears, twitching and listening to the sounds around them. Suddenly, the creature lifted its big head above the leaves and trio got their first real look at the Easter Bunny's face. Jack couldn't help but let out a little laugh as the rabbit twitched his nose, making his whiskers gleam in the morning sun. There was a rustle in the trees beside the trio and before they could say "Easter" the rabbit bounded out of the kids' sight.

When Jack and Anna got home that afternoon, Mary was surprised to see her kids grinning from ear to ear, despite the small some of the chocolate eggs they had collected. When Anna recounted the day's events to their mother over dinner, she smiled and nodded, obviously not believing a word she said. Jack didn't blame her though, a few hours ago, he wouldn't have believed Anna either!

Jack lay in bed with a smile on his face that night, giddy with the memories of the morning. He was snapped out of his daze when he heard a sleepy voice from across the room.

"He really was something wasn't he Jack..." Anna said, almost half-asleep.

"He really was!" Jack responded, long after Anna drifted off.


	7. The Boogeyman

"You better be home an hour after dark!" Mary yelled out the door as her two kids raced out of the house. It was a warm summer evening, the first after school had ended and the children were just itching to get out and play. A few of the neighbor kids were having a campfire at their home and Jack basically begged Mary to let them go. She obliged, after many pleas from both Jack and Anna.

Now she stood in the doorway watching her children run down the dirt road, a smile spreading across her face. She couldn't help but feel relieved. It had been a while since she'd seen Jack happy. Sure, every year he got a little depressed around Easter time, but this year seemed worse. With his injury and then the bullying, Mary was almost surprised he made it through Easter, never mind bounce back with such force. As much as Mary wanted to take credit, she knew she couldn't. She knew for a fact that she owed it to Dexter Finche, Anna and Jack's newest buddy. Mary had heard quite a lot about the boy, not only from her children but from the village gossipers as well.

"Have you heard about the new Doctor?" Mrs. Burningham would ask.

"Doctor Howard Finche? Well, who hasn't?" Ms. Pennyweather would reply. "He has to be the richest person ever to live in this village!"

"And obviously the dumbest." Old Mrs. Clearwater would pipe in. "Why would someone move from London to here?"

"And with such a young son!" Mrs. Burnigham would say. "I heard his wife died in a tragic accident and so he moved here with Dexter to move on. The poor child doesn't have a mother!"

And on, and on...

In all honesty, her second source of information was not all that reliable. However, Mary still couldn't help but wonder why such a rich, high esteemed man would allow his son to befriend people of such low class as the Bennetts. She stood, framed in the doorway and thinking, long after her children's silhouettes disappeared on the horizon.

Jack and Anna met with Dexter at the crossroads between their houses and set off for the Burningham homestead together. When they arrived, a group of kids had already gathered around a fire next to the barn. The trio was met with cheers and was quickly ushered to their place around the fire.

"What's going on, fellas?" Dexter asked as he took his seat on a straw bale but was immediately hushed.

"Walter's in the middle of a scary story." said one of the girls sitting next to Jack. "It's about the Boogeyman!"

Uh oh... Jack thought.

He glanced down at Anna, who was sitting between his legs, in front of the hay bale Jack and Dexter were sitting on. As soon as she heard the word

Boogeyman she turned to look nervously at Jack and a small whimper escaped her lips. The Boogeyman had been a touchy subject for Anna, ever since she was young. Jack put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her.

"Don't worry, I'll be right here," he said. Anna nodded and slowly turned back to the fire, placing a hand on Jacks as if to make sure it stayed glued to her shoulder. She didn't let go until halfway through Walter's story.

"And the young boy's brother tried, desperately to help..." Walter said, over-dramatization oozing from his words. "But it was no use. The Boogeyman got him!" he swiped his fist through the air in front of him, as if grabbing at a fly, and clenched his fist in the firelight. "And he was never... seen... again."

Anna swirled around and threw herself into Jack, nearly throwing him off the bale. She buried her face deep into his chest and whimpered:

"This is too scary Jack. Make it stop."

"Hey, hey... shhh it's okay..." Jack pet the back of her head gently. "It's not real okay... Just a story!"

Jack looked around the fire. Most of the children were very young and he could see in their faces that they did not enjoy hearing Walter's story as much as

Walter had enjoyed telling it. An idea formulated in his head as he noticed a pair of deer antlers on the ground beside the barn. He got up, much to Anna's dismay and walked across to the other side of the fire.

"That was a... lovely story Walley, but, why don't we try something... fun instead?" Jack said, slapping the boy on the back. He picked up the deer antlers, trying hard to create a story in his head.

"Once upon a time..." he began, not yet sure of the story to come.

Jack took a bow, nearly whacking one of the kids with the antler in his hand, which only caused more laughter and cheers amongst the crowd of children.

Jack smiled. He returned to his seat on the hay bale, discarding the antlers on his way over, and Anna crawled into his lap.

"You're funny, Jack!" she exclaimed between giggles.

"Well I'm glad you finally noticed!" he answered back, causing more giggles.

Jack looked over at Dexter, who was shaking his head slightly, a grin barely visible on his face.

"What?" Jack asked a little worried. Dexter laughed and rustled Jack's hair.

"You sure know how to change a mood. Great storytelling, mate!"

Jack laughed along with him, and the children's laughter roared through the night.

"Jack... Jack?"

Jack stirred from his deep sleep.

"Mmmm...?" he said, sleepily.

"Jack? Jack, please wake up!"

Jack's eyes fluttered opened, trying hard to adjust to the blackness of the room. He pushed himself up into the sitting position until he could see comfortably in the dark room. Anna was standing by his bed, clutching her toy bunny. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet.

"Anna? C'mere... What's wrong?" Anna scrambled into Jack's bed, trying to contain the fit of sobs and tears but to no avail. Jack held her close and slowly rocked her body back and forth, one hand wrapped around her back, the other holding her head safely in the comfort of his shoulder. She cried and cried as

Jack gently hushed her and stroked her hair. When she finally calmed down, Jack pulled away from her slightly so he could look into her eyes.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" He asked softly. Anna took a deep breath and tried to talk between sobs.

"I... I had a-a bad d-dream! There were monsters and... And The Boogeyman!" She looked up into her brother's icy blue eyes "I'm scared Jack!"

She erupted into a new fit of tears and hid her face in his shoulder again. After a minute of easy's and it's okay's Jack looked into her eyes again.

"Don't worry Anna you have nothing to fear. It was just a bad dream! Besides, there's no such thing as the Boogeyman."

"H-how do y-you know?" She responded. Jack thought for a moment.

"Well... I've never seen him." That didn't seem to reassure her much.

"But... even if he were real, he'd be no match for your big brother!"

"But that's th-the thing Jack." she retorted as a new wave of tears came in. "In the dream he got you... h-he got you, Jack!"

Jack paused for a while, feeling a slight pang of fear at his sister's words. It soon dissipated.

"Listen, as long as I'm here you've got nothing to worry about... Okay?"

Anna kept crying, her whole body shaking with every sob. She avoided eye contact with Jack, rubbing her bloodshot eyes with her shaky fists. Jack grabbed her by the shoulders, gently yet strong.

"Anna... look at me!" She raised her head weakly and looked up at Jack's face "I will never let anything happen to you, okay? I promise!"

They sat for a while, looking deep into each other's eyes. Anna sobs slowed to a manageable pace as she nodded slightly in response to Jack's promise. Jack pulled her back into a hug, as exhaustion slowly set into the young girl's body and she fell asleep. Although it took a little longer, Jack's eyes grew heavy as well and the boy drifted off into sleep.

Their mother found the two early the next morning, Anna sleeping gently on Jack's chest, his arms still holding her in a soft embrace.

Author's Note: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter! And I hoped you understood the reference to Jack's memories in the movie! I really enjoyed writing this. The second half of the chapter was actually inspired by some fan art I saw so... thanks to that amazing artist... whoever and wherever you are! And of course, Thank you, Mr./Mrs. Reader, for getting this far! :) (or should I say congrats? XD)


End file.
